1911021494 Read Online Free

look at that curiously gaping mouth. There was something odd about it. He took a pen from his pocket and gently inserted it. The tongue had been cut out. Marsh backed away and sat on the rock edge, looking out to sea.
    A minute or two later, Melsom’s head appeared above the edge of the rock. ‘Are you alright, boss?’
    ‘Don’t come up any further, Jimmy,’ said Marsh. ‘We need to get a forensic cover over the body as quickly as possible in case it starts to rain. Can you phone in to county HQ and arrange it? And you may get that wish of yours sooner than you expected. It’s a murder alright. I’m going to take some quick photos up here, then come down and wait. I want you to do the same around the base. Stay on the marked path as much as you can, but get photos of the ground. I know the forensic photographer will do a far better job than us, but we can make a start in case the rain comes on before they get here.’
    Within another hour the forensic team had arrived and a cover was fixed over the body. SOCO officers were inspecting the surface of the rock and all of the climbable routes to the summit.
    Melsom sipped a coffee provided by one of the support staff.
    ‘So will the chief be coming?’ he asked.
    ‘She’s on leave for a couple of days. She’s in Gloucester for some reason but she’ll try to get here by evening. I’ve been on the phone to her and I’ve spoken to the superintendent at HQ. What we have to do now is visit this chap, Kirby, who spotted the body this morning. We’d better get going. You can finish that coffee in the car. Give me the keys. I’ll drive.’
    * * *
    David Kirby was a retired civil servant. He lived in a bungalow in a quiet suburb of North Swanage.
    ‘I was expecting you hours ago,’ he said.
    ‘Well, sir, our first priority was to secure the area, check the body and get forensics in,’ Marsh replied. ‘You were next on the list. We need to hear your account in detail, if you don’t mind. May we come in?’
    ‘Of course.’
    He showed them through into a neat sitting room. A stout, grey-haired woman put her head round the door and asked them if they’d like coffee. Kirby didn’t introduce them. Marsh heard the sound of clattering cups.
    ‘So, Mr Kirby. Tell us how you came to be out on Ballard Down, and how you spotted the body.’
    ‘It is a body then, is it? I had trouble convincing the woman I spoke to on the phone,’ said Kirby.
    ‘Well, I’m sure you can understand that it isn’t every day our receptionist gets a call about a body being discovered like that. Most people phone 999 in an emergency. Why did you choose to phone the station?’ Marsh asked.
    ‘I wasn’t absolutely sure about it. It certainly looked like a body, but I thought that perhaps it was a trick caused by the wind or something. I didn’t want to drag the whole of the emergency services out for no good reason.’
    Marsh nodded. ‘Fair enough.’
    ‘I take the dog out for a walk most mornings. That walk is a favourite of mine when the weather’s good enough. I left the house at about eight thirty, after breakfast, and walked up through the houses here to the path that leads up the slope. It was a bit blowy up there, but visibility was good. Once I reached the top I turned inland along the ridge path. The dog chased around looking for rabbits and I wandered slowly west. I always have my binoculars with me because we do get some overwintering birds.’
    ‘So you’re a keen birdwatcher?’ Marsh said.
    ‘Yes. I took it up before I retired, and it’s become a bit of an obsession in the last couple of years.’
    ‘What binoculars do you have, sir?’
    ‘A new set of Bushnells that Marjorie bought me for Christmas.’
    ‘Can I see them, please?’ Marsh said.
    Kirby left the room and returned with the binoculars.
    ‘These are beauties,’ said the detective. ‘Your wife must know a bit about these things. Or did you tell her what you wanted?’
    Kirby shook his head. ‘She’s